Suppose you flee to a nuclear bunker in order to survive a bomb blast. You can’t stay bored in the fortification for the next 9 or 12 years without electricity, can you? Being cooped up in a dugout can be frustrating not to mention that you might run out of food before the time is up. Assuming that you have sufficient food for a long stay, what hobbies would you consider to keep yourself busy?

A hobby is not simply a way of passing time. It also improves life quality. You do it for pleasure and no one pays for entertaining yourself. In normal circumstances, we take hobbies for leisure and sometimes they may seem a luxury we cannot afford. But if you are surviving a catastrophe in a blockhouse, a hobby might be the only thing to keep you occupied. An entertainment activity offers a plethora of benefits such as:

It gives you hope

It keeps your mind occupied

It can invoke passion in you

It provides a sense of self-sufficiency

It is a creative outlet

Below are fun activities that can improve your quality of life while you’re underground.

Reading books

Books provide a lot of imaginative fun. You can even read them out to your family and friends. Any scenarios you could imagine can be played put in a fiction book. Reading allows you to take your mind off the possible tragedy as you take accommodation in a safe shelter. This activity involves more than just passing time. It polishes your knowledge and trains your brain to concentrate. Don’t forget that reading also improves your vocabulary. What a better way to improve brain power. It is like working out your brain like you do to your body in the gym. Moreover, research indicates that reading minimizes stress by 69% so you will be able to sleep better.

Apart from fiction books, consider reading human psychology and medicine. You will learn how to diagnose and treat common sicknesses which you might encounter in the fortification. By the time you get out of the ‘hole,’ you will have gained incredible skills like those of medical practitioners. You can also learn how to be a builder or an electrician by reading books on engineering. This will not only keep your brain active but also focused during the prolonged stay. Go ahead and teach yourself about the economy. There are a lot of skills you need as far as investment goes. Find out how other nations are doing economic-wise. You might be interested to move to another country which is more economically stable after leaving the bunker. By making good use of the many years at disposal, you would come out more knowledgeable than ever before and perhaps start teaching people!

Practice yoga

Yoga benefits both the mind and the body. You only need a small space to keep your body and mind healthy. You will be in a position to keep your sanity intact while you are cooped up down there. Yoga is also an active form of entertainment for both men and women. After many years of training, you will be so physically fit that others might think you are a fitness model. The best thing about yoga is that it helps you to meditate. Meditation is another wonderful technique of reducing stress, improving brain focus, lowering blood pressure, and improving your immunity. Meditation is fun too. It gets you into a good mood and you feel relaxed all the time.

Learn a Foreign Language

You may not have professional teachers in the bunker but you can ask someone to teach you their language. Learning new language allows you to communicate effectively during travels. Being multilingual would also be a great addition to your resume. Studies show that bilinguals think differently than monolinguals. The ability to speak more than one language makes you smarter and you will be more decisive. It actually helps you to polish your own native language. The other benefit is that you can cope with dementia more effectively and you will be more perceptive.

Dancing

Dancing is fun. It also provides benefits like those of physical workouts. Furthermore, it reduces stress by increasing the production of serotonin which is a neurotransmitter hormone that is associated with wellness feelings. Dancing also improves cognitive power thus making you smarter.

Have you checked out exceptional essays about dancing on Edu Birdie? There is a lot you could learn from this site.

Awaken your inner karate child

Karate is a martial art and provides real value to your life. It is one of the best ways to learn self-defense. Practicing martial arts allows you to develop coordination, stamina, strength, and body balance. Moreover, karate teaches you to be more disciplined and stay focused. It is another way to bring your body and mind together.

Crafting

What craft are you good at? Maybe you are good at knitting. You can pick up the needles and threads and make stuff. According to an expert, crafting offers similar benefits to those of meditation. It can help you get over a chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. The continuous action of knitting triggers your parasympathetic nervous system. This is a form of nervous control that calms you down during stress so you don’t have to take a flight or fight response. It is normal to get bad illusions when you are stuck in a place but engaging in craft can give you the peace of mind you just need.

Make new friends

It doesn’t matter how many people are with you in the bunker. You can meet them and establish friendships that will be of great help in future. The last thing you can do when idle is to isolate yourself. Did you know that social isolation is a worse killer than obesity? Spending time with others is fun. They don’t have to be in the same age as you – there is a lot you can learn from the elders and younger people as well. Making new friends is one key to happiness.

Juggling

Juggling can boost your brain concentration as well as hand-eye coordination. Moreover, it is a form of active meditation like yoga. It ensures that your brain is fully engaged in the objects you are trying to juggle, putting you in a relaxed state of mind like you would achieve when chanting with your legs crossed o the floor.

Final word

In a bunker, you don’t get to chat with friends on Facebook or watch your favorite TV series. But there are countless hobbies you can pick or develop in the dugout. You may start with the 8 activities outlined above and still live your best life.

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